Gina and Anthony beside a vintage white Rolls-Royce at Rosecliff's marble facade, blue sky with scattered clouds above the mansion, Newport, Rhode Island

Rosecliff Mansion, Newport · October 2021

Gina & Anthony

In October 2021, Gina and Anthony were married at the Church of Jesus Saviour. They came to Rosecliff afterward. The day split cleanly into two rooms: one close and gold under a painted dome, the other wide open and built, a century ago, for exactly this kind of afternoon.

Gina is a behavioral analyst who works with children with autism. Anthony is a lawyer.

Before he proposed, Anthony had sent Gina a text that said the sun rises for her. He asked her at sunset, on a bridge in Boston. It is the kind of detail that explains a lot about how the rest of the day was run: unhurried, and paying attention to the light.

Getting ready

The morning started at the Hotel Viking and the Wayfinder, a few blocks apart in Newport. Gina's gown was a Martina Liana piece from Alexandria's Boutique, and her hair and makeup were done by Johanna Artistry and Blinked to Beauty. Her bridesmaids got ready alongside her in blush robes.

Bride in a white lace robe holding a small dog dressed in a black tuxedo bib, Newport, Rhode Island
Bride in a white robe with her bridesmaids in blush robes, Newport, Rhode Island

Anthony's morning ran quieter, and shorter, at the Wayfinder. He got into his tuxedo there, his bow tie straightened by the window, the watch and the ring already laid out. One of his party stood with him in the room before he left for the church at 1:30, ahead of Gina.

Exterior of the Wayfinder Hotel, its sign lit against a blue sky, autumn planters on the brick patio, no people.
Groom in a tuxedo having his black bow tie straightened by another man in a tuxedo, window light, Wayfinder Hotel.
A watch resting on a wood surface, Newport, Rhode Island.
A wedding ring resting in an open ring box, Newport, Rhode Island.
Groom in a tuxedo standing beside another man in a matching tuxedo in a hotel room, Wayfinder Hotel.

The church

The Church of Jesus Saviour is close inside, red carpet down the aisle, a painted dome over the altar. Gina came down that aisle. From the back pew the church reads small and warm. From the altar it reads enormous.

Wide interior view of the Church of Jesus Saviour during the ceremony, seen from the choir loft: the couple kneeling before the altar beneath a painted fresco of the Ascension, the full congregation in the pews below.

Rosecliff

They arrived at the mansion in a vintage car, the kind of white Rolls-Royce that looks like it was built for exactly this driveway. Rosecliff's facade did what it does to every couple who stands in front of it: made them look smaller and the day look larger.

Gina came down the heart-shaped staircase alone before the reception started, one hand on the rail, the room below her already going quiet. It is the single moment on the property that every bride who has stood there says she did not expect to feel the way she did.

Gina and Anthony beside a vintage white Rolls-Royce in front of Rosecliff's marble facade, golden afternoon light, the mansion's columns and arched windows behind them.
Gina and Anthony walking along Rosecliff's colonnaded loggia, her veil in motion, evening light through the columns.
Gina pausing at a curtained window beside Rosecliff's curved grand staircase, red-carpeted steps and a wrought-iron railing behind her.
Gina and Anthony holding hands on the marble steps between the carved stone lions at Rosecliff

Cocktail hour

Before the ballroom opened, cocktail hour moved outside, onto Rosecliff's lawn above the water. The sky had gone fully dark by then, the moon bright over the water, and Gina and Anthony crossed the grass together past one of the stone statues on the lawn, her train trailing behind them. The rest of the wedding party gathered under Rosecliff's lit windows before everyone moved inside.

Groom walking across a dark lawn at Rosecliff with the bride close behind him, her face visible over his shoulder and her dress train trailing on the grass, the ocean and the moon behind them.
Bride and her bridesmaids standing in a line at night, the bride holding a white bouquet, Rosecliff lit up behind them.
Gina looking back over her shoulder at dusk, the moon and the ocean behind her.
Gina in profile at dusk, hand at her collarbone, holding her white bouquet, the ocean behind her.
Bride standing on stone steps at Rosecliff at night, her veil and dress train cascading down the steps behind her.

The evening

The ballroom was set with white florals from Flowers by Ila under the chandeliers, round tables reaching back into the dark corners of the room.

Empty ballroom set for a wedding reception at Rosecliff: a chandelier and painted ceiling above round tables in white linen with gold chiavari chairs and blush floral arrangements.

At the sweetheart table, low centerpieces of blush and cream framed Gina, seen alone against one of Rosecliff's carved marble alcoves.

Bride alone in profile at a table set with blush and cream centerpieces, an ornate carved marble alcove behind her, Rosecliff.

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Your wedding at Rosecliff

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Read more about the house itself in our Rosecliff Mansion wedding film guide.